MEET A CSU ALUMNUS - Tim Cosgrove
Tim Cosgrove's Cleveland State graduation diploma hangs on the wall of his Kirkland home. He still has his 1979 acceptance letter, too. They're reminders of just how much the University has meant to him over the past 29 years.
Today a partner with the international law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Cosgrove was born and raised in Cleveland´s Collinwood area and was the first in his family to attend college. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1983, followed by a JD from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1987. He worked his way through college by waiting tables and tending bar.
After passing the Ohio bar exam on his first try, Cosgrove worked as an executive assistant to Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich and later, as director of policy and legislation when Voinovich became governor. He joined Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in 1993, and became a partner in 2001.
"I was always grateful that CSU was there for me," he says. "CSU gave me educational opportunities I would not have had. The professors were terrific and had an enormous impact on my life and my love of learning."
In 2007, Cosgrove completed a 10-year term on the CSU Board of Trustees, which included two years as treasurer and four years as board chairman. He is now serving as a director on the Cleveland State University Foundation.
"Everything I have in life is because of my education. It´s difficult to overstate what a special place Cleveland State is," he notes. "Cleveland State changes students´ lives - it really does."
